Helen G. Brudner, Ph.D.
Associate Director, School of Political and International Studies, Fairleigh Dickinson University
Challenges to Privacy and the Constitution
A discussion of the possible impact of modern technology, biotechnology, educational technology and environmental concerns on individual rights of privacy. Is your home your castle? Does your freedom end where my nose begins? Can society test you blood, your genes and your intelligence in the name of the common good? These are just a few of the questions this talk seeks to address.
William Gillette, Ph.D.
Professor of History, Rutgers University
New Jersey's Modern Politics
A survey of the state’s politics and governmental institutions under the Constitution of 1947. In particular, New Jersey’s modern governors will be surveyed.
Milton Heumann, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Political Science, Rutgers University
Speech and Hate Speech: Conflict Within the First Amendment
Ought we to proscribe certain categories of speech? The speaker provides criteria and examples of sanctionable speech under various college codes and asks: Under what conditions are words so inherently wrong/bad/dangerous that they ought to be forbidden?
Milton Heumann, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Political Science, Rutgers University
The Supreme Court in the Democratic System
To paraphrase the Rev. Falwell: “Should we have nine old folks overriding what is democratically decided?" How can we reconcile a Supreme Court with democratic principles? Is there a real tension? Should the Court “oppose” popular preferences with respect to the death penalty, abortion and prayer in school? This lecture raises these and other questions and involves participants in arriving at answers.
Deborah Yaffe
Freelance Writer/Journalist
Other People's Children: Abbott v. Burke and New Jersey's Struggle Over Equity in Education
How much is a rich society required to spend on the education of the poor? How much inequality can we tolerate in our schools? If some children have fewer educational opportunities than others, is the United States still the country we imagine it to be – a place where anyone who works hard can succeed? In courtrooms, schoolhouses and legislative chambers, New Jerseyans have spent 40 years arguing these questions, as the long-running school finance lawsuit Abbott v. Burke helped reshape the state’s political, educational and economic landscape. A new governor, a new school finance law and a new economic landscape have left Abbott’s status unclear, but the issues the case raises remain as relevant as ever. In this engaging, non-technical lecture, the author of Other People’s Children: The Battle for Justice and Equality in New Jersey’s Schools puts the complex issue of school funding in historical and human context, examining the themes that recurred repeatedly during years of conflict and profiling the people caught up in the struggle.
